COMIC-CON 2010: ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ has video game flair, at least when it comes to destroying the City of Angels

July 22, 2010 | 11:07 p.m.

The aliens are coming, and they’re not the crustaceans from last year’s Comic-Con breakout hit “District 9.” These ruthless invaders will arrive next year as villains in “Battle: Los Angeles,” a live-action film starring Aaron Eckhart and Michelle Rodriguez.

Angelenos who enjoyed watching their city crumble in “2012” will be treated to scenes of its sandy beaches, concrete freeways and skyscrapers blown into smithereens in this upcoming movie from Sony Pictures, at least according to footage shown Thursday afternoon.

Producer Neal Moritz summed up the film’s premise for the 6.500 Comic-Con fans who packed the main hall in the San Diego Convention Center this way: “What would an alien invasion look like?”

Answer: A lot like a video game.

Just as a player’s perspective is shown in a first-person shooter video game, many of the action sequences are viewed from the perspective of the Marines who are tasked with defending Los Angeles. Director Jonathan Liebesman acknowledged the influence of video games during the panel and said, “It feels like Modern Warfare or Halo,” referring to two of the most popular video game franchises.

Rodriguez said she had to refrain from reaching for a game controller when she watched some of the film’s footage, shot with a washed-out, grainy effect. Acting in the movie required her to handle actual weapons, however, not just a controller.

In an effort to capture the realism of war, she and Eckhart spent three weeks prior to shooting training at a Marine boot camp in Louisiana.

“We had to learn how to think like Marines, act like Marines, swear like Marines and drink like Marines,” Eckhart said.

“I learned how to take apart an M4 in less than a minute. With a pen,” Rodriguez said. “Modern Warfare doesn’t teach you how to do that.”

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